Thursday, October 28, 2010

Keeping us climbers at bay during the winter can prove to be hard for some. Many go on big roadtrips, some resort to the plastic and others somehow get a kick out of climbing frozen waterfalls.
Although the routes might not be as huge as in the Rockies, Ontario and Quebec definitley have their share of Ice Routes. With a few good weeks of good solid cold each season there seems to be enough around to keep everyone busy.

Although there are many more routes than listed here, these two guides should get you out on some of the consistent(good) climbs in the Ottawa Valley near Gatineau, Calabogie, Madawaska and some of the surrounding areas.

Not included in these guides but well worth getting to are:
Bancroft/Eagles's Nest
Schooner Lake
Bon Echo
Brule Lake
Diamond Lake

Here is a GREAT link to some downloadable guidebooks and some great information on Ontario Ice Climbing:ONTARIO ICE CLIMBING PAGE

They are all within a few hours drive of Ottawa and I will try to collect the information I have and make it into a printable document within a few weeks.

Along with the Quebec section (look for it on the webpage), hopefully, there is enough information to sort you out. Enjoy the up and coming winter season!!

Friday, October 1, 2010

I dont ususally post many of my personal missions on here but this time I guess it's an exception.
Off to Ontario in my friends 4runner for a few weeks to visit family and climb in north-western Ontario.
I keep hearing about all these routes being put up over the last few years, and it has me psyched. Sweet granite cracks overlooking lakes in a very unique wilderness environment. We plan for the Kenora area to a place called Gooseneck Rocks then off to Thunder Bay to the Sleeping Giant? And maybe even some Bon Echo once at home and finally some Luskville in Gatineau. Oh ya did I mention lots of wine and turkey! Still up in the air but the weather is looking good for some colourful fall climbing. Hope everyone had a sick year on the rock and look forward to seeing you all on the ice. I'll include a couple of sweet photos of the northern Ontario climbing/area..................

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

I recently discovered this band that blends horns, soul, jazz and funk to make a really incredible sound. They are from Staten Island, New York and I guarantee their music will get your head bobbing. Here's a track!

A few years ago I found a topo for a crag called the Hideaway located between Cougar Canyon and Bataan on Grotto Mountain. If you have ever been to Bataan or taken a look at Grotto from Canmore, you can see a big "grotto" (cave like canyon running the height of almost the whole mountain) on the left face of the mountain. This is Echo Canyon. There is now a ton of climbing up there, tons of walls and 3 big multi-pitch classics. This is THE place to go if you are climbing between 5.11 & 5.13. Bring a 70m rope, lots of draws, a helmet for the long routes and good sense of adventure (little more adventurous than your average sport routes) and you will be awarded with a great experience. Thanks to the guys and gals for all the effort put into this place!

The approach is a wonderful (albeit uphill) hike first up through the trees from the Alpine Club of Canada's Clubhouse then up a scenic narrow canyon with a bit of scrambling. After about an hour the canyon opens up into the big ampitheatre where endless rock awaits you. The Hideaway is the first crag you come to on the left, then after another 10-15 minutes you will run into the 'Prospect' on your left as well. Finally after a little while longer you will end up at the 'Coliseum' and 'Tall Storey'. The Lookout is located on the other side of the canyon and offers steep jug hauls in a great setting. It takes a little to find the crags your first time, but don't worry, the hike is fun and an awesome atmosphere awaits you.

Over the past year or so it has started to become a favoured place to go for local Canmore sport climbers. Instant classics everywhere, steep, asthetic routes on great limestone in a beautiful place! Get out and enjoy these routes, I guarantee once you visit you will keep going back! The pictures your enjoying are from/of Derek Galloway and Gery Unterasinger, local hard climbers from Canmore.

It really doesnt get any better than the Canmore area's Planet X. Actually pronounced '10' like the roman numeral, this place hosts high quality featured blue/grey limestone of a overhanging nature. If long (almost 40m), steep, physical, asthetic sport climbing is for you then you cant miss this crag. Located high up the Cougar Canyon drainage behind Grotto Mountain, Planet X is in a beautiful, remote location that gives an awesome vibe while climbing there. The cliff gets almost no sun, so the warm summer months would be ideal. You need a 70m (atleast) for all the routes, lots of draws and some strong arms. The warm up's are 5.11's, similar to Acephale. Thanks to Derek Galloway for the topo and information.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Although the season has taken a turn for the cold here in B.C I was still keen to include a couple of sweet detailed maps of Slesse's Northeast Buttress. I personally love having folded up topos in my back pocket when climbing long routes, no bulky guidebook but just a little cheat sheet if you may. A well deserved classic, Slesse is a beautiful mountain in a beautiful place.

Included is a detailed route topo, the new Crossover pass descent, which has been really developed and is being used a lot now (and did I mention it brings you back to your car), a road map of the area/approach, and a photo of the route from the hiking trail, and then some photos to get you psyched! All easily printable.

Sully's Hangout is a super cool crag located just off the trans-canada highway in North Vanvouver on the lower slopes of Lynn Peak. The crag is nestled underneath a big canopy of fir trees that give a very pleasant atmosphere and is a great place to hang out. Expect well-bolted climbing with difficult technical cruxes mostly in the 5.11 range, but with lots of good lower end stuff as well. A really good place on a sunny summer day to escape the heat.

Access is a bit of an issue here so please read up carefully on the topo and try to do your best to keep the climbing alive here. Enjoy!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Being from Ontario, I only started climbing there the last year and a half I lived there. I didnt get the chance to visit many of the areas that I'm going to include here, but they all seem to have something to offer. From the Niagara Glen to Bon Echo to Mt.Nemo, there is enough established here to keep a climber busy for some time. I have collected as many topos as I could to include here and I hope to be able to visit some of these sweet areas in the future. Enjoy the upcoming fall/changing colours climbing season!

For Bon Echo's guidebook refer to the 'rock climbing' downloads on the this home page. There is one other crag that is problay one of the best in Ontario and it's called The Lion's Head on Georgian Bay on the Bruce Peninsula. You can aquire the guidebook in many outdoor stores across Ontario and it should be a must on any serious rock climbers list. Beautiful climbing right over the lake on awesome limestone! Oh ya and did I mention Thunder Bay???............................

Saturday, August 14, 2010

A gem in an already beautiful bouldering area, Cougar Canyon's bouldering keeps on getting better. The quality of these new problems is something to check out for yourself. They have been hiding underneath the Secret Wall all this time......if you like steep, aesthetic problems on beautiful features this is the spot. Spitting distance from the "Down Under" area, now we have yet another great addition to the fantastic climbing down here. Included here is a little mini-guide to add to the full Cougar Boulder Guide (didnt feel like rewriting the whole thing), but I thought the info needed to be out there. ENJOY!

After climbing all the routes (or attempting) at Ellison I have completed a more informative topo/guide. Just a little more info on the routes themselves, first ascents and better directions. This new topo should be just what everyone needs to make sense of a great little area right on Okanagan Lake. For those who don't know; crack climbing is the main theme here, although there are a few boulder problems and sport routes scattered about, you do need some gear for most routes and the rock is very different to most of the climbing in the Okanagan, high quality granite. The cliff gets shade until just after noon, and the boulder traverse (sweet) under the lakeside cliff, has an area to swim adjacent to it incase you get too hot. Hope you enjoy the new guide, and have a great summer. See you out there.

And P.S, if anyone has more FA info on the routes in this guide feel free to email me at allenclimbs@gmail.com so I can fill them in.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Trying to escape the 30+ degree heat in the summer as a rock climber is always interesting. Wether its climbing during the morning or late afternoon, it can be a little unbearable to be on the wall while the sun is baking you. Recently I have been climbing on some of the more secluded cliffs in Cougar Canyon where the are some really fun routes to get on. The Secret Wall has a couple of great little crimpy routes and some potential for some really amazing climbing. There is the cool feature called the Cougar's Tooth, with a nice 5.8ish splitter crack, short but fun.

The Lakeview Face is another shady cliff with a couple of hours worth of good climbing, though I thought it was a bit scruffy like many of the less used cliffs at Cougar. All it took was a good brushing and now a couple of the routes are ready to go again. Its not a far walk, about 2 minutes past the drop in gully to Toad Hall you just go down the gully to the right instead, and there it is facing Kal Lake. Just wanted to share this so my days work didnt go to waste. All this info is in the guidebook, just wanted to add it here for those who use the plaques and/or dont have a guide. The freshly brushed routes are:

Dazed & Confused - 5.11 - Fingery climbing that doesnt relent to the anchors. Really fun!Squeeze My Lemon - 5.11+ - Hard!Lakeview Arete - 5.10+ - Throw a small piece of gear in the finger crack and head for the roof and up on bolts.Bombs Away Variation - 5.9 - GEAR + 2 Bolts - We skipped the end of the route to avoid the really loose sketchy rock and joined the Arete route at the last two bolts. Lakeview Slab - 5.7 - GEAR - Two little corners, climb one of them then onto the diagonal trending crack to two anchor bolts at the top of the cliff.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Yet another musical installment to the page! I just keep looking for more good music and I keep on being pleasantly suprised. There seems to be so much good original music out there keeping me interested it's hard to keep up! Here are some recent tracks that should make you smile, I hope you like them, Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

After a whole bunch of scrubbing, rock moving, exploring and trail marking, almost 20 new problems have been unearthed and a whole new area has been introduced. The bouldering in Cougar Canyon close to the city of Vernon has recently become one of the better bouldering areas in the Okanagan, with high quality problems, pretty good landings and tons of potential it just keeps coming. For those in the area who have took a wander down in the bottom of the canyon, you must of seen the amount of rocks, it just took a keen eye and a little effort.

Included here is a small guide I have finished that is a printable little book. When you print the document, print page 1 on its own, then print pages 2-12 on the two sided page option. The pages are all set up so when you fold them it becomes a book, throw some staples in it and you have a sweet little guide book. Hope everyone enjoys it! Bring your pads and brushes and see you out there! Oh ya did I mention, most of the bouldering stays in the nice cool shade down here, so it should be a great spot in the summer heat!!!!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

A local of the Kamloops area scene has put together an awesome printable guidebook that encompasses the two main areas, Roche Lake and The Beach, and another smaller crag called Prickly Pear canyon. Been waiting for this one for a while. The Beach is a great place to climb in the heat as it is quite sheltered from the sun, the rock here is somewhat solid basalt and there are tons of moderates with an awesome view! Roche Lake on the other hand has many tougher routes on granite rock that will keep you pumped, the quality of the climbing here is super good! Lots of other great activities nearby as well, whether it be paddling on the Thompson river or biking the areas many awesome downhill trails, Kamloops is worth a visit! ENJOY

Thursday, May 27, 2010

The Niagara Glen is the most developed bouldering destination in Southern Ontario and is rightfully one of the best! Over seven hundred problems lie in the forest up river from the falls carefully tucked away from the insane tourists looming everywhere you look. The atmosphere is quiet the opposite, a beautiful setting with tons of high quality sandstone boulders with only climbers about. The only downside to this area is the access, in past years some problems have arisen but as of right now only the roped climbed is banned. Treat this place well and it will be around for the years to come. If you live in Ontario are around, it is a great place to stop en route to places like The Red River Gorge or such.

Here is the fabulous 'NIAGARA GLEN BOULDERING GUIDEBOOK' for your pdf printable pleasure. Please tread lightly and help us enjoy this area for years to come!

For those who like a little drum and bass..........
I have been listening to a few songs latley that have really got my attention. Nothing like some upbeat music to put a smile on your face. Kinda something to get us looking forward to the music festival season! See you out there! ENJOY!